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Jeanne Ostrander, left, waits her turn to get some free, fresh produce from the Farm-2-Library refrigerator at Crandall Public Library Thursday morning. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

Jeremy Dickinson, facilities manager at Crandall Public Library, places food inside a refrigerator at the library Thursday morning. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

GLENS FALLS — Jeanne Ostrander grabbed some potatoes, blueberries, cottage cheese, parsley and a tomato at Crandall Public Library on Thursday morning and placed the produce inside her Boscov’s shopping bag.

“I like the fresh vegetables, and also economic-wise, my husband and I are both retired, so you know, if we can get fresh vegetables it’s better for us,” said Ostrander, who was second in line at the library Thursday.

She was one of several people waiting in line at the library Thursday morning to get free, fresh food from the Farm-2-Library program, started by Comfort Food Community. The Greenwich-based nonprofit delivers food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries through the region every week.

“I’m not going to say that I’m necessarily in that category,” Ostrander said, “but there are a lot of people that do need help.”

Comfort Food Community works to end rural hunger, support local farms, and build healthy communities throughout Washington, Warren and Saratoga counties. The programs provide food access, food recovery, and food as health services, creating a stronger, more sustainable local food system.

The Farm-2-Library program is being offered in partnership with the Southern Adirondack Library System. The food, which is free to community members, usually arrives at libraries on Thursdays and sometimes Fridays. The program started in June at Crandall Public Library.

The demand for food at the library has been so great, library staff members have started putting half of the food out on Thursday and the other half out on Friday.

Jeremy Dickinson, left, facilities manager at Crandall Public Library, lifts a bag of potatoes Thursday outside of the library as Sarah Harrington, a driver for Comfort Food Community, watches. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

“The first couple weeks we just put everything out, and it just went,” said Jeremy Dickinson, the library’s facilities manager.

Farm-2-Library has recently seen a notable increase in attendance — so much that individuals are lining up outside the libraries waiting for deliveries each week.

“It’s the same at every library I deliver to,” said Sarah Harrington, a food recovery driver for Comfort Food Community. “People need food.”

The nonprofit also delivers to various food pantries in the region.

“Given just the rising costs of everything right now, people that weren’t feeling the pain of those expenses before, are feeling it now,” said Haley Graves, CFC’s community engagement manager. “Obviously, coming out of COVID, still dealing with COVID, people have lost their jobs or they’re just getting back on their feet so the need has definitely increased, and we’re definitely feeling it more now than we ever have before.”

Guinevere Forshey, left, assistant director of Crandall Public Library, Jeremy Dickinson, library facilities manager, and John Huggins, program coordinator at Glens Falls Hospital, sort through produce at Crandall Public Library Thursday. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

Comfort Food Community raises funds to purchase food from local farmers. Some farms also donate excess food.

“At the end of the day whether we’re paying the farm or if we’re gleaning the excess produce, it’s still benefiting the farm,” Graves said, “because it’s food that would go to waste, and it’s also surplus crop in their field that they have to deal with.”

Glens Falls Hospital provided funding through the state Department of Health for the purchase of a refrigerator to store the food.

Libraries are an accessible, safe and inclusive place in a community to get books and now food, said Graves. The goal is to encourage people to make healthy lifelong choices, including reading and eating healthy food.

Offering food at a library also eliminates the stigma attached to walking into a food pantry, Graves said.

“No one should feel ashamed for needing a hand or a little extra help,” she said, “but I think it does take away form that stigma and feeling of shame for needing assistance. So when you’re going to your local library, it doesn’t feel out of the ordinary, but you’re still getting what you need.”

Jeremy Dickinson, facilities manager at Crandall Public Library, places food inside a refrigerator at the library Thursday morning. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

Gretta Hochsprung writes features and hometown news. She can be reached at 518-742-3206 or ghochsprung@poststar.com.

Comfort Food Community's Farm-2-Library program supplies free, fresh food to 11 libraries in the region:

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An 8-year-old Argyle boy died on Saturday in an accident involving a utility terrain vehicle, state police said on Tuesday.

A man was charged with aggravated DWI on Saturday after he drove off Lockhart Mountain Road in Queensbury, police said. 

A man has died after an accident at the town of Long Lake's transfer station on Monday.

A Glens Falls woman was arrested on Saturday during a traffic stop after police discovered she had an active bench warrant, and she was also found to be in possession of narcotics, police said. 

A Glens Falls woman is expected to be sentenced to 7 years in prison in connection with a burglary in Hartford last Christmas Eve.

A Colonie man is accused of unlawful surveillance at the Warrensburg Travel Park and Riverfront Campground on Saturday.

A man from Boulder, Colorado, drowned in Friends Lake in the town of Chester on Sunday, police said.

The body of a missing Cambridge woman was discovered in a wooded area off Route 114 in the town of Schaghticoke on Wednesday.

A man was arrested on Thursday after he allegedly broke into a home in Stillwater naked and attempted to sexually assault one of the residents, police said. 

A Monday evening storm pulled down some trees and power lines in the region, including in Kingsbury and elsewhere in Washington County.

Guinevere Forshey, left, assistant director of Crandall Public Library, Jeremy Dickinson, library facilities manager, and John Huggins, program coordinator at Glens Falls Hospital, sort through produce at Crandall Public Library Thursday. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

Jeremy Dickinson, facilities manager at Crandall Public Library, places food inside a refrigerator at the library Thursday morning. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

Jeremy Dickinson, left, facilities manager at Crandall Public Library, lifts a bag of potatoes Thursday outside of the library as Sarah Harrington, a driver for Comfort Food Community, watches. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

Jeremy Dickinson, facilities manager at Crandall Public Library, places food inside a refrigerator at the library Thursday morning. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

Jeanne Ostrander, left, waits her turn to get some free, fresh produce from the Farm-2-Library refrigerator at Crandall Public Library Thursday morning. Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

Comfort Food Community, a nonprofit based in Greenwich, runs a Farm-2-Library program to deliver free, fresh food sourced from local farms to 11 libraries throughout the region every week. 

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